Friends and loved ones are remembering the man Dallas police said was killed earlier this week in what investigators are calling a heinous homicide.
Aside from the blue balloons and flowers, this isn't the Saturday anyone in Morland Smith's family had planned.
“Moland loved the Cowboys,” said his sister, Staphanie Sharp. “We're going to live his memory and live it every day.”
The 51-year-old was remembered as a favorite uncle and kind brother at the West Dallas park.
Family and friends prayed together and released blue and white balloons at 3:11 p.m., symbolizing Moreland's birthday on March 11.
Family members told NBC 5 Wednesday was supposed to be any other day. Morland Smith had just gone to buy donuts at a shopping center in the 9500 block of Saine Road in southeast Dallas.
That's when a suspect approached him and another man and began firing, Dallas police said.
The parking lot became a sea of yellow evidence signs indicating dozens of shots and the violence inflicted.
Moreland Smith passed away, and so did 22-year-old JaMarcus Irving.
Pat Smith said the past 72 hours since her brother's murder have been so chaotic that she has had little sleep.
“That’s what we need most right now,” Smith said. “All we need is an answer as to why, because he's innocent and he's just standing there.”
